Universal behavior of entrainment due to coherent structures in turbulent shear flow

A solution is suggested for a persistent mystery in the physics of turbulent flows: cumulus clouds rise to towering heights, practically without entraining the ambient medium, while apparently similar turbulent jets quickly lose their identity through entrainment and mixing. Dynamical system computations on a model vortical flow show that entrainment due to coherent structures depends sensitively on relative speeds of fluid parcels. Local heating, for example, can alter drastically the sizes of Kolmogorov-Arnol'd-Moser tori and chaotic mixing regions. The entrainment rate and, hence, the lifetime of a turbulent shear flow show a universal, nonmonotone dependence on the heating.     

Toward a structural understanding of turbulent drag reduction: nonlinear coherent states in viscoelastic shear flows

Nontrivial steady flows have recently been found that capture the main structures of the turbulent buffer layer. We study the effects of polymer addition on these "exact coherent states" (ECS) in plane Couette flow. Despite the simplicity of the ECS flows, these effects closely mirror those observed experimentally: Structures shift to larger length scales, wall-normal fluctuations are suppressed while streamwise ones are enhanced, and drag is reduced. The mechanism underlying these effects is elucidated. These results suggest that the ECS are closely related to buffer layer turbulence.     

Splitting dynamics of coherent structures in a transitional round-pipe flow

Direct numerical modeling of scenarios of the initiation, development, and mutual transitions of coherent turbulent structures in a round pipe at Reynolds numbers 1800 ≤ Re ≤ 4000 is performed. High-accuracy computations were performed for very prolonged time intervals, which made is possible to reveal the fundamental long-lived and statistically stationary flow modes in the transient region between the laminar and established turbulent modes. Reclassification of coherent structures describing the splitting dynamics of the subcritical laminar-turbulent transition is proposed.     

Lagrangian coherent structures analysis of gas-liquid flow in a bubble column

The objective of this paper is to apply a new identifying method to investigating the gas-liquid two-phase flow behaviors in a bubble column with air injected into water.In the numerical simulations,the standard k-?turbulence model is employed to describe the turbulence phenomenon occurring in the continuous fluid.The Finite-Time Lyapunov Exponent(FTLE)and Lagrangian Coherent Structures(LCS)are applied to analyze the vortex structures in multiphase flow.Reasonable agreements are obtained between the numerical and experimental data.The numerical results show that the evolution of gas-liquid in the column includes initial and periodical developing stages.During the initial stage,the bubble hose is forming and extending along the vertical direction with the vortex structures formed symmetrically.During the periodical developing stage,the bubble hose starts to oscillate periodically,and the vortexes move along the bubble hose to the bottom of column alternately.Compared to the Euler-system-based identification criterion of a vortex,the FTLE field presents the boundary of a vortex without any threshold defined and the LCS represents the divergence extent of infinite neighboring particles.During the initial stage,the interfaces between the forward and backward flows are highlighted by the LCS.As for the periodical developing stage,the LCS curls near the vortex centers,providing a method of analyzing a flow field from a dynamical system perspective.     

Lower branch coherent states in shear flows: transition and control

Lower branch coherent states in plane Couette flow have an asymptotic structure that consists of O(1) streaks, O(R(-1)) streamwise rolls and a weak sinusoidal wave that develops a critical layer, for large Reynolds number R. Higher harmonics become negligible. These unstable lower branch states appear to have a single unstable eigenvalue at all Reynolds numbers. These results suggest that lower branch coherent states control transition to turbulence and that they may be promising targets for new turbulence prevention strategies.     

Holographic flow visualization as a tool for studying three-dimensional coherent structures and instabilities

Holography is capable of three-dimensional (3D) representation of spatial objects such as fluid interfaces and particle ensembles. Based on this, we adapt it into a 3D flow visualization tool called Holographic Flow Visualization (HFV). This technique provides a novel means of studying spatially and temporally evolving complex fluid flow structures marked by a disperse phase or interfaces of different fluids. This paper demonstrates that HFV is a straightforward technique, especially when the In-line Recording Off-axis Viewing (IROV) configuration is used. The technique can be applied either as a stand-alone experimental tool for studying scalar-based coherent structures, flow instabilities, interactions of different fluids driven by fluid dynamics, interfacial phenomena, or as a precursor to volumetric 3D velocity vector field measurement of complex transient flow dynamics. Experimental results in several complex fluid flows and flames demonstrate the effectiveness of HFV. Different methods are used to mark flow structures undergoing different instabilities: 1) a vortex ring grown out of a drop of polymer suspension falling in water, 2) cascade of a bag-shaped drop of milk in water, and 3) internal flow structures of a jet diffusion flame.     

State-transition structures in physics and in computation

In order to establish close connections between physical and computational processes, it is assumed that the concepts of state and of transition are acceptable both to physicists and to computer scientists, at least in an informal way. The aim of this paper is to propose formal definitions of state and transition elements on the basis of very low level physical concepts in such a way that (1) all physically possible computations can be described as embedded in physical processes; (2) the computational aspects of physical processes can be described on a well-defined level of abstraction; (3) the gulf between the continuous models of physics and the discrete models of computer science can be bridged by simple mathematical constructs which may be given a physical interpretation; (4) a combinatorial, nonstatistical definition of information can be given on low levels of abstraction which may serve as a basis to derive higher-level concepts of information, e.g., by a statistical or probabilistic approach. Conceivable practical consequences are discussed.     

Non-stoichiometry in shear structures

Shear planes do not affect the manner in which point defects determine physical properties of shear structures such as conductivity, diffusion, epr, etc. The fact that these properties show the p_o2, dependence expected for normal point defect models indicates that the shear planes themselves do not play a significant role, but point defects in the shear planes may contribute.     

Solitary re-entrant superconductivity in asymmetrical FSF structures

Solving the boundary value problem for the Eilenberger function, the superconducting and magnetic states of asymmetric ferromagnet–superconductor–ferromagnet (F₁SF₂) nanostructures are investigated. The dependences of critical temperature on an exchange field of the F metal, electronic correlations in the S and F metals, and thicknesses of layers F and S are derived. It is shown that the possibility of the Larkin–Ovchinnikov–Fulde–Ferrell (LOFF) state observation is especially increased in the asymmetrical trilayers F₁SF₂ for which solitary re-entrant superconductivity is predicted. The possibility of solitary re-entrant superconductivity for asymmetrical trilayers F₁SF₂ in the dirty limit is also shown.     

Asphaltene adsorption mechanism under shear flow probed by in situ neutron reflectivity measurements

We propose here a method to adapt a rheometer with a cone/plate geometry to a neutron reflectometer in order to perform in situ reflectivity measurements. This study allowed us to probe the influence of the shear rate on the mechanism of asphaltenes adsorption, the heaviest and most polar compounds of crude oil, using bad solvent conditions. Such experiment aims at describing at a local scale the surface modifications induced by flowing crude oils (pipe transportation or production through porous media). Without shearing, in a 34%/66% xylene/dodecane mixture for which the asphaltenes flocculation is achieved in bulk, the nanoaggregates are able to be adsorbed on a hydrophilic surface as multilayers, with a surface excess much larger than for good solvent conditions. Moreover, the thickness of these multilayers increases almost linearly with time, in accordance with QCM experiments. In shear rate conditions, the adsorption process is however strongly limited since the surface excess of the adsorbed layers is around twice lower at 2600 s^?1 than at 1200 s^?1.     

Low-dimensional models of coherent structures in turbulence

For fluid flow one has a well-accepted mathematical model: the Navier-Stokes equations. Why, then, is the problem of turbulence so intractable? One major difficulty is that the equations appear insoluble in any reasonable sense. (A direct numerical simulation certainly yields a “solution”, but it provides little understanding of the process per se.) However, three developments are beginning to bear fruit: (1) The discovery, by experimental fluid mechanicians, of coherent structures in certain fully developed turbulent flows; (2) the suggestion, by Ruelle, Takens and others, that strange attractors and other ideas from dynamical systems theory might play a role in the analysis of the governing equations, and (3) the introduction of the statistical technique of Karhunen-Loève or proper orthogonal decomposition, by Lumley in the case of turbulence. Drawing on work on modeling the dynamics of coherent structures in turbulent flows done over the past ten years, and concentrating on the near-wall region of the fully developed boundary layer, we describe how these three threads can be drawn together to weave low-dimensional models which yield new qualitative understanding. We focus on low wave number phenomena of turbulence generation, appealing to simple, conventional modeling of inertial range transport and energy dissipation.     

Identifying coherent structures in nonlinear wave propagation

Nonlinear wave phenomena are often characterized by the appearance of "solitary wave coherent structures" traveling at speeds determined by their amplitudes and morphologies. Assuming that time intervals exist in which these structures are essentially noninteracting, a method for identifying the number of independent features and their respective speeds is proposed and developed. The method is illustrated with a variety of increasingly realistic specific applications, beginning with a simple nonlinear but analytically tractable Gaussian model, continuing with (numerically generated) data describing multisoliton solutions to the Korteweg-de Vries equation, and concluding with (numerical) data from a realistic simulation of nonlinear wave interactions in plasma turbulence. These studies reveal both strengths and limitations of the method in its present incarnation and suggest topics for future investigations.     

Elastic capsules in shear flow: Analytical solutions for constant and time-dependent shear rates

We investigate the dynamics of microcapsules in linear shear flow within a reduced model with two degrees of freedom. In previous work for steady shear flow, the dynamic phases of this model, i.e. swinging, tumbling and intermittent behaviour, have been identified using numerical methods. In this paper, we integrate the equations of motion in the quasi-spherical limit analytically for time-constant and time-dependent shear flow using matched asymptotic expansions. Using this method, we find analytical expressions for the mean tumbling rate in general time-dependent shear flow. The capsule dynamics is studied in more detail when the inverse shear rate is harmonically modulated around a constant mean value for which a dynamic phase diagram is constructed. By a judicious choice of both modulation frequency and phase, tumbling motion can be induced even if the mean shear rate corresponds to the swinging regime. We derive expressions for the amplitude and width of the resonance peaks as a function of the modulation frequency.     

Extraction and verification of coherent structures in near-wall turbulence

According to the characteristics of coherent structures in near-wall turbulence, an accurate extraction and verification method is developed based on wavelet transform (WT) and correlation analysis in this paper. At first, the fluid field of a turbulent boundary layer is measured precisely in a gravitational low-speed water tunnel. On the basis of the distribution of the coherent structures, velocity data of three test points are selected and analyzed, whose dimensionless heights are 20.8, 33.5, and 42.6. According to the frequency range of power spectrum density (PSD), coherent and incoherent structures are both extracted from the original signals using continuous and orthogonal wavelet transforms. To confirm the validity of the extracted signals, the probability density function (PDF) of each extracted signal is calculated. The result demonstrates that the incoherent structures obey the Gaussian distribution, while the coherent structures deviate from the Gaussian distribution. The PDFs of the coherent structures and the original signals are similar, which shows that the coherent structures make most contributions to the turbulence. For further verification, a correlation parameter between coherent and incoherent structures is defined, which evidently proves the validity of the extraction method in this paper.     

A Stokesian viscoelastic flow: Transition to oscillations and mixing

To understand observations of low Reynolds number mixing and flow transitions in viscoelastic fluids, we study numerically the dynamics of the Oldroyd-B viscoelastic fluid model. The fluid is driven by a simple time-independent forcing that, in the absence of viscoelastic stresses, creates a cellular flow with extensional stagnation points. We find that at O(1) Weissenberg number, these flows lose their slaving to the forcing geometry of the background force, become oscillatory with multiple frequencies, and show continual formation and destruction of small-scale vortices. This drives flow mixing, the details of which we closely examine. These new flow states are dominated by a single-quadrant vortex, which may be stationary or cycle persistently from cell to cell.     

Star polymers in shear flow

Linear and star polymers in solution are studied in the presence of shear flow. The solvent is described by a particle-based mesoscopic simulation technique, which accounts for hydrodynamic interactions. The scaling properties of the average gyration tensor, the orientation angle, and the rotation frequency are investigated for various arm lengths and arm numbers. With increasing functionality f, star polymers exhibit a crossover in their flow properties from those of linear polymers to a novel behavior, which resembles the tank-treading motion of elastic capsules.     

Three-dimensional shear in granular flow

The evolution of granular shear flow is investigated as a function of height in a split-bottom Couette cell. Using particle tracking, magnetic-resonance imaging, and large-scale simulations, we find a transition in the nature of the shear as a characteristic height H* is exceeded. Below H* there is a central stationary core; above H* we observe the onset of additional axial shear associated with torsional failure. Radial and axial shear profiles are qualitatively different: the radial extent is wide and increases with height, while the axial width remains narrow and fixed.     

Semiflexible polymers in shear flow

The dynamics of semiflexible polymers under the influence of shear flow is studied analytically. Power laws are derived for various conformational and dynamical quantities which are in agreement with experimental findings. In particular, the tumbling motion is analyzed and expressions are provided for the probability distributions of the orientation angles and the tumbling time. The calculations explain the similarities in the behavior of flexible and semiflexible polymers as well as free-draining and nondraining systems.